Review Summary

Along a diabolical stretch of New Mexico desert, man, dog and subhuman alike will find themselves trapped, poor souls, in that most hellish of genres, the horror-classic remake. Run for the hills! But keep your eyes open. Snobs may balk, purists will be appalled, but this new and exceedingly nasty version of Wes Craven's 1977 cult shocker is awfully good at what it does. And mostly what it does is make you feel awful. Directed in tense, concentrated jabs by Alexandre Aja, who wrote the screenplay with Gregory Levasseur, the remake establishes a jittery family dynamic as well as the original, making the heroes of the movie just sympathetic enough that it stings when they are plunged into a world of utter nihilism and depravity. This is done with such remorseless élan that Mr. Craven (on hand as producer) must have gone green with envy. Or maybe disgust. "Hills" confirms the promise of "High Tension," Mr. Aja's viciously effective (if compromised) debut. No one else under 30 makes movies this savage — and disturbingly symptomatic. — Nathan Lee